Station Says Its Mix Draws Audience, Advertisers

Audience, Advertisers Tune In To New Mix

September 10, 1991|By MARY AGNES CAREY; Courant Staff Writer

C When it comes to attracting an audience and advertisers, David Pearlman believes he's found the right mix. Just one year after launching Mix 93.7 FM, radio station WZMX has risen from an all-weather format with a less than 1 percent audience share to an adult contemporary music mix that's boosted the station into the top five among 13 stations in the Hartford market.

"In a very difficult economic environment ... we've had a successful start-up," said the 40-year-old Pearlman, the station's president and chief executive officer.

Arbitron, a nationwide radio and television ratings service, listed the Farmington-based station as one of the region's top radio stations with adults ages 25 to 44.

In the spring Arbitron report, WZMX had 7.1 percent share of the audience, which tied it for fourth place with WDRC-FM. No. 1 in the market was WHCN-FM, with a 9.6 share of the audience.

The station also has succeeded with advertisers because it is well capitalized, well promoted and delivers what it promises, said Irene Makiaris, of Makiaris Media Services, a Bloomfield company that helps clients plan their advertising and media budgets.

As WZMX planned its debut, keeping its format a secret until the station went on the air Aug. 31, 1990, "they let it be known they weren't going to be shy, they were going to be very aggressive," Makiaris said. That strategy has continued, she said.

Pearlman came to Connecticut last year after a 14-year career with Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. that included stops in Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago. He and two venture capital partners bought the license of former WLVH for $6.4 million.

Pearlman declined to say how much, if any, of his own money was involved in the deal. He also declined to say how much money was needed to buy new equipment, relocate and renovate the station's offices and pay for other start-up expenses.

Pearlman chose Connecticut for two reasons: The location was close to his hometown of Brookline, Mass., and the market potential was great.

In the Hartford metropolitian area, the 13 stations battle for approximately $40 million in revenue, Pearlman said. That's better

odds than other markets of similar size. In Alberque, N.M., for instance, 20 stations compete for $20 million, he said.

Buying an existing radio station is the only way to get a piece of the action, Pearlman said.

"It's like beachfront property. Once it's bought, it's gone. There's only so much room on the dial, so much space that's available." After buying the station, Pearlman had a spot on the dial but no format, little equipment, one engineer and an electronic scanner that monitored the weather via the NOAA Weather Service, provided by National Weather Service.

After extensive market research by a company Pearlman and his investors hired, he determined the market needed music that wasn't as loud and pounding as the top 10 rock stations but didn't lull listeners the way he felt easy-listening stations do.

So with the help of programmer Herb Crowe, then based in Atlanta but now the station's vice-president in charge of programming, Pearlman compiled a playing list that fit that mix. Artists leading that list include Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston and Elton John. The combination of music from the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, skyway patrol traffic reports and a 5:30 to 10 a.m. drive-time morning show, has turned Mix 93.7 into a formidable competitor that's successfully taking on ratio stations that have been on the air for 20 to 60 years, Pearlman said.

But at least one competitor wonders how long the upward climb will last.

Jeremy Savage, operations manager, morning personality and program director for WKSS-FM, acknowledges Mix 93.7's success, but believes much of it is attributable to a promotional blitz.

"I see that they've paid for their audience with a heavy TV campaign and billboards," Savage said. "If you advertise a product long enough, people will come to it.

"But will they stay with it? That's another question. How compelling will it be for people when they hear the advertising on that station? Will their advertisers get results?" Warren Schroeger, operations manager-program director at WRCH-FM, terms Mix 93.7 as "a significant competitor. They're not blowing smoke. They have some documentation now." Their format is one that works in other areas of the country and has a similar appeal here, Schroeger said.

"Their longevity is guaranteed. There's a hole in the market for their type of radio," he said.

Pearlman said he's here to stay.

"I've waited my whole life to do this; I've waited my whole life to do it right," he said. "We're not going to be a minor figure. We're going to be a major player."